Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life

From the New York Times best-selling author of Elizabeth the Queen comes the first major biography of Prince Charles in more than 20 years - perfect for fans of The Crown. Sally Bedell Smith returns once again to the British royal family to give us a new look at Prince Charles, the oldest heir to the throne in more than 300 years.

Game of Crowns: Elizabeth, Camilla, Kate, and the Throne

One has been famous longer than anyone on the planet - a wily stateswoman and an enduring symbol of a fading institution. One is the great-granddaughter of a king's mistress and a celebrated homewrecker who survived a firestorm of scorn to marry her lover and replace her archrival, a beloved 20th-century figure. One is a beautiful commoner, the university-educated daughter of a self-made entrepreneur, a fashion idol, and wife and mother to two future kings.

Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion

Jazz is a uniquely American art form, one of America's great contributions to not only musical culture, but world culture, with each generation of musicians applying new levels of creativity that take the music in unexpected directions that defy definition, category, and stagnation. Now you can learn the basics and history of this intoxicating genre in an eight-lecture series that is as free-flowing and original as the art form itself.

Prince William: The Man Who Will Be King

His face is recognized the world over; his story is well known. But what is Prince William truly like? As Diana's eldest son, he was her confidant. While the tabloids eagerly lapped up the details of his parents' divorce, William lived though it, suffering the embarrassment and divided loyalties. He watched his father denounced on prime-time television; he met the lovers. And when he was just 15, his beautiful, loving mother was suddenly, shockingly snatched from his life forever. The nation lost its princess and its grief threatened the very future of the monarchy. What was almost forgotten in the clamor was that two small boys had lost their mother.

The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin

The epic tale of the rise to power of Russia's current president - the only complete biography in English - that fully captures his emergence from shrouded obscurity and deprivation to become one of the most consequential and complicated leaders in modern history, by the former New York Times Moscow bureau chief.

Hard Choices

Hillary Rodham Clinton's inside account of the crises, choices, and challenges she faced during her four years as America's 67th Secretary of State, and how those experiences drive her view of the future. In the aftermath of her 2008 presidential run, she expected to return to representing New York in the United States Senate. To her surprise, her former rival for the Democratic Party nomination, newly elected President Barack Obama, asked her to serve in his administration as Secretary of State. This memoir is the story of the four extraordinary and historic years that followed.

Behind Palace Doors

In this affectionate and often hilarious inside story of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, her former equerry Major Colin Burgess reveals what life was like living with the most private of all the Royals. Behind Palace Doors is a unique and warmly remembered historic insight into one of our longest-surviving institutions. Constantly fascinating and packed with previously untold stories, this is also a celebration of a life gone - and a way of life fast disappearing.

Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power

Trump Revealed offers the most thorough and wide-ranging examination of Donald Trump's public and private lives to date, from his upbringing in Queens and formative years at the New York Military Academy to his turbulent careers in real estate and entertainment to his astonishing rise as the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. The book is based on the investigative reporting of more than two dozen Washington Post reporters and researchers.

The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life's Perfection

Michael A. Singer, author of The Untethered Soul, tells the extraordinary story of what happened when, after a deep spiritual awakening, he decided to let go of his personal preferences and simply let life call the shots. As Singer takes you on this great experiment and journey into life's perfection, the events that transpire will both challenge your deepest assumptions about life and inspire you to look at your own life in a radically different way.

The Professor and the Madman

Part history, part true-crime, and entirely entertaining, listen to the story of how the behemoth Oxford English Dictionary was made. You'll hang on every word as you discover that the dictionary's greatest contributor was also an insane murderer working from the confines of an asylum.

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries from a Secret World

How do trees live? Do they feel pain or have awareness of their surroundings? Research is now suggesting trees are capable of much more than we have ever known. In The Hidden Life of Trees, forester Peter Wohlleben puts groundbreaking scientific discoveries into a language everyone can relate to.

The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of Our Inner Resources

This unique and fundamentally liberating book shows us that examining our attitudes toward money - earning it, spending it, and giving it away - can offer surprising insight into our lives, our values, and the essence of prosperity. Lynne Twist, a global activist and fundraiser, has raised more than $150 million for charitable causes. Through personal stories and practical advice, she demonstrates how we can replace feelings of scarcity, guilt, and burden with experiences of sufficiency, freedom, and purpose. In this Nautilus Award-winning book, Twist shares from her own life, a journey illuminated by remarkable encounters with the richest and poorest.

Publisher's Summary

For the first time, HRH The Prince of Wales shares his views on how our most pressing modern challenges - from climate change to poverty - are rooted in mankind's disharmony with nature, presenting a compelling case that the solution lies in our ability to regain a balance with the world around us.

With its holistic approach, this provocative and well-reasoned book takes the discussion of sustainability and climate change in a new direction. Prince Charles shows how the solutions to problems like climate change lie not only in technology but in our ability to change the way we view the modern world.

For decades, the Prince of Wales has been studying a wide array of disciplines to understand every aspect of man's impact on the natural world, and in that time he has examined everything from architecture to organic farming to sustainable economics. Now, for the first time, he speaks out about his years of research, presenting a fascinating look at how modern industrialization has led us to a state of disharmony with nature, created climate change, and pushed us to the brink of disaster.

From the rice farms of India to the prairies of America's corn belt, from the temples of Ancient Egypt to the laboratories of industrial designers, Harmony spans the globe to identify the different ways that contemporary life has abandoned the hard-earned practices of our history, a shift that has spurred a host of social problems and accelerated climate change.

Drawing on cases from farming, health care, transportation, and design, the Prince of Wales also offers solutions for change, creating a new vision for our world, one that incorporates the traditional wisdom of our past with the modern science of our present to avert catastrophe. In the end, Harmony paints a holistic portrait of what we as a species have lost in the modern age, while outlining the steps we can take to regain the harmony of our ancestors.

You probably already know each of the concepts and talking points presented in this well written book, but rather than being a simple review the book offers a "big picture" view. To me the material was organized in such a compelling and intelligent way that it transcends many of the more piecemeal offerings available. Charles is able to weave together what is wrong with the way we are living in the world and what needs to be done to fix the problem beautifully.

Be prepared--this is not an easy listen. It can become overwhelming to have all the woes of the world laid neatly at your feet. And yes, occasionally the book becomes the "blame game". It liberally spreads the blame around and in doing so it brings many of our personal choices under scrutiny. You will find yourself rethinking simple decisions and choices you make each day. It is necessary and humbling to see how a myriad of small things are compounded into big problems with a global impact.

I thought Charles did a good job with the narration. However, several friends found his tone and manner off putting. I agree that his speaking style takes a bit of time to settle into--but he speaks with passion and laughing sarcasm very effectively.

This is a book that needs to be heard and acted upon. Well worth the time.

Would you consider the audio edition of Harmony to be better than the print version?

Yes.

What did you like best about this story?

The message of unity in the physical and spiritual world, supported by HRH's deep knowledge of history, art, archeology and philosophy.

What does Charles, HRH The Prince of Wales bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Because it is read by the author, his passion for the subject comes through and it feels like a conversation. Also, he has a fabulous accent.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The whole thing! I have listened 3 times now.

Any additional comments?

HRH, The Prince of Wales has demonstrated himself to be a thoughtful, creative and innovative thinker. It is heartening to think that someone with such an outlook and such insight will be king of the British Commonwealth one day.

Would you consider the audio edition of Harmony to be better than the print version?

I picked this book up on a lark and am absolutely amazed and inspired by this work. I had no idea who this man is (although of course know his face and name) and am thrilled to find such an inspiration in a man of authority. I will listen to this again and again.

Any additional comments?

I found listening to HRH actually read his book added a lot to the understanding.

The information presented here is not new material, but HRH Prince Charles eloquently discusses these topics seriously, respectfully, and with the assumption that we can, together, do something to fix these social-environmental problems, to restore harmony with earth and humanity. EVERYONE should listen to this book.

I almost certainly will, because it is a reminder of the philosophical underpinnings for my 20 year striving to live a sustainable life and respect the Earth and all her creatures.

What did you like best about this story?

As well as articulating a philosophy for the survival of the Earth and our species and others, I appreciated the descriptions of the various educational and environmental initiatives that so many people are undertaking. They were inspiring. Though I believe we have gone too far down our current path of greed and destruction to avoid catastrophe, it is a moral imperative for each of us to do what we can to reverse the headlong rush to destroy this planet that sustains us.

Which character – as performed by Charles, HRH The Prince of Wales – was your favorite?

Charles! He has striven for decades to improve the world, and has mostly been criticized for it. I admire his persistence.

I liked this book. The narration was quite good. The ideas advanced in the book, particularly on all things sustainable and durable, are sensible and timely. At the risk of sounding picayune, I do think the book would be easier to listen to if the chapters were shorter. This is an interesting read. The writing, editing and narration are jolly good.